Dark Horses for THE PLAYERS: Underpriced Ancer Makes a Run

Before I jump into this week’s dark horses, I want to start off with a recap from the Arnold Palmer Invitational. My dark horses were Russell Knox, Luke List, and Byeong Hun An. I am going to keep it simple and say that they all made the cut, but they fell off over the weekend. They got four full rounds in which is always a positive, but it doesn’t do a whole lot when they are going 2 or 3-Over par each round. Wasn’t very exciting to say the least, so I focused more of my attention on Bryson driving that Par 5 and finishing Sunday with a win.

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This week the PGA tour is heading to TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida for THE PLAYERS Championship. This is usually an incredible field with it being considered the 5th Major on the PGA Tour. Last year we were let down as COVID broke out and shut down America, ultimately making the tournament shut down mid-tournament. In 2019, we had players like Eddie Pepperell, Jhonattan Vegas, and Brian Harman find their way into the top 10. I don’t know what their salaries were, but these are usually longshots in most tournaments. These are the so called “dark horses” that you want to look for to come out on top in DraftKings tournaments.

This week I will be providing three dark horses, meaning players that are longshots, but could play really well for their salary. These dark horses are players that are $7,500 and below. Also I only use DraftKings, so these prices will be for their website, but the players can be used on FanDuel as well.

(Also I only like going back three years and since last year was cancelled, I will only look at 2019 and 2018.)

Dark Horse Number 1

Abraham Ancer: He is my first and favorite dark horse by a mile. You are telling me I get him at $7,500? When he came in a tie for 12th in 2019. Sign me up! Also currently 28th ranked golfer in the world. He also did not play here in 2018. His recent finishes on tour are T18 (WGC-Workday), MC (Genesis), T52 (Saudi), T5 (The AMEX).

The stats I like for the course:

SG Approach: 71st

Par 4 Scoring Average: T20

SG Around the Green: 110th

SG Total: 63rd

Dark Horse Number 2

Jhonattan Vegas: He came in T3 in 2019 and T41 in 2018 at THE PLAYERS. His last few finishes are 2nd (P.R.O.), T50 (Pebble), T41 (Saudi), MC (Farmers). The stats don’t line up right, but I will trust the past results. I use key stats every week, but I am a course history kind of DFS player. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not…just like using stats. Tournaments are never usually consistent, which means anyone can get hot any week.

The stats I like for the course:

SG Approach: 169th

Par 4 Scoring Average: T56

SG Around the Green: T146

SG Total: 130

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Dark Horse Number 3

Brian Harman: My last dark horse is Brian Harman. He came in T8 in 2019 and MC in 2018. He has been making cuts lately with the last four starts being T43 (Genesis), T39 (Pebble), T36 (WMPO), T8 (The AMEX). For his price point those stats are looking pretty enticing. I will take those for a sub $7,000 player on DraftKings. I would not play him in every lineup, but definitely a few if you play multi-entry.

The stats I like for the course:

SG Approach: 97th

Par 4 Scoring Average T81

SG Around the Green: 105th

SG Total: 46th

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Dark Horses for THE PLAYERS Championship

By Richard McCusker | Mar 10, 2021

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